Method and apparatus for generating watch screen design for smart watch

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method for generating a watch screen design, performed by an apparatus for generating a watch screen design. The method includes at least: determining at least one user-preferred watch screen design from previously-registered watch screen designs, based on at least one of a watch screen design evaluation history and a watch screen design generation history of a user; acquiring tag information previously-matched to each element included in the at least one user-preferred watch screen design; determining at least one element to be included in a random watch screen design, based on the number of times that tag information has been acquired; and generating the random watch screen design by randomly selecting and combining the determined at least one element, and preferentially selecting the element having a high number of times that tag information has been acquired.

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/347,929 filed Nov. 10, 2016, which claimspriority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0135991, filed on Oct.19, 2016, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for generatinga watch screen design for a smart watch, and more particularly, to amethod and apparatus for automatically generating a watch screen designto be applied to a smart watch by automatically determining elements forforming the watch screen design.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wearable devices, which can be worn by users to communicate withexternal devices and can display various information, have beendeveloped. Wearable devices have come in various types such as awristwatch-type smart watch, a glass-type head mounted display (HMD), orthe like, and various wearable device manufacturers provide their ownunique user interfaces.

Smart watch manufacturers, in particular, provide their own unique watchscreen designs. Thus, when using a smart watch, users may determine oneof a number of watch screen designs provided, and set in advance, by themanufacturer of the smart watch.

However, the number and the types of watch screen designs provided byeach smart watch manufacturer are generally limited and cannot fullyreflect users' tastes.

Also, methods have not yet been developed for allowing users to design awatch screen and apply it to their smart watch or for automaticallygenerating a watch screen design based on user information. Also,methods have not yet been developed for generating a watch screen designfor providing an interface associated with a particular function of asmart watch.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method andapparatus for automatically generating a watch screen design for a smartwatch based on user information.

More specifically, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosureprovide a method and apparatus for automatically generating a watchscreen design based on user information such as a user's profileinformation and histories of searching, generating, and applying watchscreen designs.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a methodand apparatus for automatically generating a watch screen for a user'ssmart watch based on watch screen designs generated by multiple otherusers.

More specifically, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure alsoprovide a method and apparatus for applying different weighted values todifferent types of elements included in watch screen designs generatedby multiple users and generating a watch screen design based on theweighted values.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a methodand apparatus for automatically changing settings regarding at leastsome of the elements of a watch screen generated based on informationcollected via a smart watch and/or information entered by a user.

However, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are notrestricted to those set forth herein. The above and other exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains byreferencing the detailed description of the present disclosure givenbelow.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a methodcomprises determining at least one user-preferred watch screen designfrom previously-registered watch screen designs, based on at least oneof a watch screen design evaluation history and a watch screen designgeneration history of a user, acquiring tag informationpreviously-matched to each element included in the at least oneuser-preferred watch screen design, determining at least one element tobe included in a random watch screen design, based on the number oftimes that tag information has been acquired, and generating the randomwatch screen design by randomly selecting and combining the determinedat least one element, and preferentially selecting the element having ahigh number of times that tag information has been acquired.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a watchscreen design can be provided according to a user's tastes.

In addition, a watch screen design can be automatically generatedwithout the need to receive settings regarding each element for formingthe watch screen design from a user.

Moreover, a smart watch whose watch screen design changes according to auser's environment can be provided.

Other features and exemplary embodiments may be apparent from thefollowing detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other exemplary embodiments and features of the presentdisclosure will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplaryembodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a configuration view of a system for generating a screendesign for a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for generating a screen designfor a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a screendesign for a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates elements for forming a watch screen design for asmart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of determining a display region for asub-dial;

FIG. 6 illustrates sub-dials and watch screen designs to which thesub-dials can be applied;

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of determining a display region for text;

FIG. 8 illustrates tag information;

FIG. 9 illustrates a watch screen design element that changes inresponse to an event; and

FIG. 10 illustrates widgets that can be displayed in a sub-dial displayregion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods ofaccomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference tothe following detailed description of exemplary embodiments and theaccompanying drawings. The present disclosure may, however, be embodiedin many different provides and should not be construed as being limitedto the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and willfully convey the concept of the present disclosure to those skilled inthe art, and the present disclosure will only be defined by the appendedclaims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout thespecification.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and thepresent disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. The terminologyused herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments onlyand is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms“a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms, including“at least one,” unless the content clearly indicates otherwise.

The structure and the operation of a system for generating a watchscreen design, which performs a method of generating a watch screendesign, will hereinafter be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1is a configuration view of a system for generating a watch screen designfor a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system may include an apparatus 100 forgenerating a watch screen design, a smart watch 200, and externaldevices. FIG. 1 illustrates a first terminal 310, a second terminal 320,and a smart watch 330 as examples of the external devices. The apparatus100, the smart watch 200, the first terminal 310, the second terminal320, and the smart watch 330 are computing devices capable ofcommunicating with one another. The smart watch 200, the first terminal310, the second terminal 320, and the smart watch 330 may be used bydifferent users.

The apparatus 100 may provide an interface for generating a watch screendesign for a smart watch to a user of the smart watch 200 and users ofthe external devices. The apparatus 100 may include a display unit andan input unit and may provide the interface for generating a watchscreen design to a user (hereinafter “the user”) of the apparatus 100and other users via the display unit and the input unit.

Alternatively, the apparatus 100 may provide the interface forgenerating a watch screen design to the smart watch 200, the firstterminal 310, the second terminal 320, and the smart watch 330, in whichcase, the user and other users may generate a watch screen design viathe interface for generating a watch screen design, provided to theirrespective devices.

In response to an input for generating a watch screen design beingreceived from the user, the apparatus 100 may generate a random watchscreen design. The apparatus 100 may display the generated random watchscreen design and may provide the generated random watch screen designto the smart watch 200 according to a selection made by the user.

The structure and the operation of the apparatus 100 will be describedlater in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The smart watch 200 may display a watch screen design provided by theapparatus 100.

The smart watch 200 may transmit its user information, its element usageinformation, which is information regarding the user's usage of eachelement included in the watch screen design of the smart watch 200, andits feedback information, which is the user's feedback on the watchscreen design of the smart watch 200, to the apparatus 100.

Alternatively, the smart watch 200 may receive various information fromthe user via the interface for generating a watch screen design,provided by the apparatus 100.

The first terminal 310 may be a stationary computing device. Forexample, the first terminal 310 may be a desktop personal computer (PC).The second terminal 320 may be a portable computing device. For example,the second terminal 320 may be a smartphone. The apparatus 100 mayprovide each watch screen design generated therein not only to the smartwatches 200 and 330, but also to computing devices such as the first andsecond terminals 310 and 320.

The apparatus 100 may receive watch screen designs generated by thefirst terminal 310, the second terminal 320, and the smart watches 200and 330. The apparatus 100 may store the received watch screen designsby matching them with their respective user information.

The apparatus 100 may provide an interface for the transaction ofpreviously-registered watch screen designs to the user devices of FIG.1.

The apparatus 100 will hereinafter be described in detail with referenceto FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for generating ascreen design for a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus 100 may include a processor 101, anetwork interface 102, a memory 103, and a storage 104.

The processor 101 controls the general operation of each of the elementsof the apparatus 100. The processor 101 may be configured to include acentral processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an arbitrary type of processor that is alreadywell known in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. Theprocessor 101 may perform computation in connection with at least oneapplication or program for executing a method of generating a watchscreen design for a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure and may thus generate various interfaces forperforming the method according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The apparatus 100 may be equipped with one or moreprocessors.

The network interface 102 supports wired and wireless Internetcommunication of the apparatus 100. Also, the network interface 102 maysupport various communication methods other than an Internetcommunication method. The network interface 102 may be configured toinclude various communication modules.

The network interface 102 may receive watch screen designs generated byvarious user devices. Also, the network interface 102 may transmit arandomly-generated watch screen design to user devices.

The network interface 102 may provide various interfaces created by theprocessor 101 to the smart watches 200 and 330, the first terminal 310,and/or the second terminal 320 in the process of generating a watchscreen design.

The memory 103 stores various data, commands and/or information. Thememory 103 may load at least one program 105 from the storage 104 toperform the method according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a random access memory (RAM) as anexample of the memory 103.

The storage 104 may non-temporarily store data received from an externalsource. The storage 104 may be configured to include a non-volatilememory such as a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or a flashmemory, a hard disk, a removable disk, or a computer-readable recordingmedium that is already well known in the field to which the presentdisclosure pertains.

The storage 104 may store at least one program 105 for executing themethod according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2 illustrates design generating software as an example of theprogram 105. The operation of the apparatus 100 in connection with theexecution of the design generating software 105 will be described laterwith reference to FIG. 3.

The storage 104 may store various settings and information received fromthe user or from the external devices. More specifically, a watch screendesign database 106 and user information 107 may be stored in thestorage 104.

A watch screen design generated by the user may be stored in the watchscreen design database 106. Also, watch screen designs generated by theexternal devices such as, for example, the smart watches 200 and 330,the first terminal 310, and the second terminal 320, may be stored inthe watch screen design database 106.

The watch screen design database 106 may store elements that form eachwatch screen design. The watch screen design database 106 may store eachof the elements together with tag information. The tag information mayinclude tag information regarding, and included in, each of the elementsand tag information indicating a general sense of volume, the texture,and the characteristics of the watch screen design.

For example, a watch screen design may include a background image, a setof hands, an index, one or more sub-dials, and/or text as its elements.For example, tag information of a particular index item may include taginformation that can identify the element type of the particular indexitem from other element types and may also include detailed modelinformation of the particular index item, for example, detailed taginformation indicating the model type of the particular index item, suchas, for example, index 1 or index 2.

A watch screen design may include various elements depending on whetherthe watch type is an analog type or a digital type, and each of thevarious elements may have tag information matched thereto in advance. Ina case in which a watch screen design is manually generated, taginformation may be matched to each element of the manually-generatedwatch screen design according to user settings.

The user information 107 may include the user's sex, hobbies, andinterests, the model of the smart watch 200, and operating systeminformation of the smart watch 200. Also, the user information 107 mayinclude the user's history of manually generating watch screen designs.That is, the user information 107 may include information regarding thetypes of watch screen design elements chosen by the user in the processof generating a watch screen design.

The user information 107 may further include the user's history ofevaluation watch screen designs generated by other users. That is, theuser information 107 may include the user's preferences on watch screendesigns generated by other users and may also include informationregarding watch screen design elements preferred by the user.

Although not specifically illustrated, the apparatus 100 may furtherinclude an input unit, which receives selections of watch screen designelements from the user, and an output unit, which displays a watchscreen design generated by the user.

Methods of generating a watch screen design for a smart watch accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will hereinafter bedescribed based on the above description with reference to FIGS. 1 and2. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure that willhereinafter be described may not necessarily be conducted separately orindependently, but may be performed in combination of one another or incombination of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is assumedthat the methods according to the embodiments of the present disclosurethat will hereinafter be described are performed by the apparatus 100.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a screendesign for a smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates watch screen design elements fora smart watch according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Each step of the method of FIG. 3 may be performed by the apparatus 100.The apparatus 100 may receive an input requesting the generation of arandom watch screen design from the user via an interface for generatinga watch screen design. In response to receipt of the input, theapparatus 100 may provide an interface for generating a random watchscreen design to a user terminal. For example, the user terminal may beone of the smart watches 200 and 330, the first terminal 310, and thesecond terminal 320 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the apparatus 100 may determine at least oneuser-preferred watch screen design from among a plurality ofpreviously-registered watch screen designs based on at least one of thewatch screen design evaluation history and the watch screen designgeneration history of the user (S10).

The apparatus 100 may receive an evaluation input for each of thepreviously-registered watch screen designs via the interface forgenerating a watch screen design. The apparatus 100 may provide aninterface for evaluating a watch screen design to the user terminal.

For example, the interface for evaluating a watch screen design, such asan interface for giving a star rating or a score or a “like” button, maybe provided to the user terminal, and the user may evaluate each of thepreviously-registered watch screen designs present in the apparatus 100via the interface for evaluating a watch screen design. Alternatively,the apparatus 100 may receive text reviews or evaluations on each of thepreviously-registered watch screen designs from the user. Thepreviously-registered watch screen designs may be watch screen designsgenerated by the user, or other users, via the interfaces provided bythe apparatus 100. That is, the apparatus 100 may store each generatedwatch screen design. More specifically, the apparatus 100 may store eachwatch screen design by matching them with their respective userinformation.

Also, the apparatus 100 may determine the user-preferred watch screendesign based on evaluation information input by the user.

The user may generate a watch screen design via the interfaces providedby the apparatus 100. For example, the user may determine elements forforming a watch screen design such as a smart watch model, a watch type,a background image, a set of hands, an index, and one or more sub-dialsand may thus generate a watch screen design according to his or hertaste.

The apparatus 100 may determine the user-preferred watch screen designbased on information regarding each of the determined elements and thewatch screen design generated based on the determined elements. Theapparatus 100 may determine more than one user-preferred watch screendesign.

Once the user determines the user-preferred watch screen design, theapparatus 100 may acquire tag information previously matched to eachelement that forms the user-preferred watch screen design (S20).

As mentioned above with reference to FIG. 2, a watch screen design hastag information for each element thereof. The apparatus 100 may storetag information for each element of a watch screen design.

Referring to FIG. 4, there may be four types of watch screen designelements, i.e., watch types 401, background images 402, indexes 403, andsets of hands 404. Tag information of each watch screen design elementmay include an identifier indicating the type of a corresponding watchscreen design element and an identifier indicating detailed modelinformation of the corresponding watch screen design element. Forexample, tag information of an analog watch type may include anidentifier “watch type” and an identifier “analog”. The tag informationof the analog watch type may be expressed as “watch type_analog”.

Accordingly, the apparatus 100 may identify the type and the detailedmodel of each watch screen design element based on the tag information.

More specifically, the apparatus 100 may identify each of the elementsincluded in the user-preferred watch screen design.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the apparatus 100 may determine elements forforming a random watch screen design based on the acquired taginformation (S30). That is, the apparatus 100 may determine which of theelements identified from the user-preferred watch screen design are tobe included in a random watch screen design to be formed and thedetailed model of each of the elements determined to be included in therandom watch screen design to be formed. For example, the apparatus 100may determine a random watch screen design to be formed to be of theanalog watch type and to include a background image, an index, and a setof hands, but not to include any sub-dials. More specifically, theapparatus 100 may determine a classic-style analog type corresponding totag information 1, which is tag information regarding the analog watchtype, index 1 corresponding to tag information 2, which is taginformation regarding indexes, and hands 3 corresponding to taginformation 3, which is tag information regarding sets of hands, as theelements for forming a random watch screen design.

The apparatus 100 may determine the elements for forming a random watchscreen design based on, for example, the number of times that taginformation has been acquired. That is, the apparatus 100 may set aweighted value for each of the elements included in the user-preferredwatch screen design based on the number of times that tag informationhas been acquired.

For example, it is assumed that a plurality of watch screen designs aredetermined as user-preferred watch screen designs based on the watchscreen design evaluation history or the watch screen design generationhistory of the user. In a case in which more tag information is acquiredfor the analog watch type than for other watch types in the plurality ofwatch screen designs, or the quantity of tag information acquired forthe analog watch type exceeds a predefined number, the apparatus 100 mayapply a high weighted value to the analog watch type. Also, in a case inwhich more tag information is acquired for background image 1 than forother background images, or the quantity of tag information acquired forbackground image 1 exceeds the predefined number, the apparatus 100 mayapply a high weighted value to background image 1.

In this manner, the apparatus 100 may apply a weighted value to thedetailed model of each of the elements included in each of the pluralityof watch screen designs.

The apparatus 100 may determine elements with highest weighted values asthe elements for forming a random watch screen design.

The apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screen design by combiningthe determined elements for forming a random watch screen design.Referring to FIG. 4, the apparatus 100 may transmit the generated randomwatch screen design to the smart watch 200, and the smart watch 200 maydisplay the received random watch screen design, i.e., a random watchscreen design 210.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, a watch screen design mayfurther include one or more sub-dials. Sub-dials may be parts of a watchscreen design that display functions other than a basic time displayfunction and show various information such as, for example, temperature,humidity, weather, alarm, and the time in another time zone. Examples ofa watch screen design including one or more sub-dials will hereinafterbe described.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of determining a display region for asub-dial. FIG. 6 illustrates sub-dials and watch screen designs to whichthe sub-dials can be applied.

More specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates designs 501, 502, 503, and 504,which show exemplary random watch screen designs. Referring to FIG. 5, arandom watch screen generated by the apparatus 100 may include sub-dialA (510).

Referring again to FIG. 3, in S40, the apparatus 100 may determine afirst region from among one or more sub-dial display regions in theuser-preferred watch screen design where one or more sub-dials arearranged as a display region for sub-dial A (510).

That is, once at least one user-preferred watch screen design isdetermined in S10, the apparatus 100 may identify at least one sub-dialincluded in the user-preferred watch screen design based on taginformation. Also, the apparatus 100 may identify the region in theuser-preferred watch screen design where the identified sub-dial isarranged. If there are multiple sub-dials included in the user-preferredwatch screen design, the apparatus 100 may identify the types of themultiple sub-dials and the regions where the multiple sub-dials arerespectively arranged.

If the number of times tag information has been acquired for thesub-dial identified from the user-preferred watch screen design exceedsa predefined number, the apparatus 100 determine the sub-dial identifiedfrom the user-preferred watch screen design as an element for forming arandom watch screen design.

In a case in which the sub-dial identified from the user-preferred watchscreen design and having tag information acquired therefor more than thepredefined number of times is, for example, sub-dial A (510), theapparatus 100 may determine sub-dial A (510) as an element for forming arandom watch screen design, and may determine the region in theuser-preferred watch screen where sub-dial A (510) is arranged as adisplay region for sub-dial A (510) in a random watch screen design.

Referring to the design 501, the apparatus 100 may generate a randomwatch screen design including sub-dial A (510).

Referring to the designs 502 and 503, in a case in which the sub-dialsidentified from the user-preferred watch screen design include bothsub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520), a random watch screen includingboth sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) may be generated. In thiscase, the apparatus 100 may determine both sub-dial A (510) and sub-dialB (520) as elements for forming a random watch screen design if thenumber of times tag information of each of sub-dial A (510) and sub-dialB (520) has been acquired exceeds the predefined number.

In this case, the apparatus 100 may determine the correlation betweensub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) according to a predefinedcriterion set between tag information of sub-dial A (510) and taginformation of sub-dial B (520).

The predefined criterion may be determined based on tag informationregarding various sub-dial categories set by multiple users. Forexample, if sub-dial A (510) is a sub-dial showing the day of the weekand sub-dial B (520) is a sub-dial showing the date, sub-dial A (510)and sub-dial B (520) may be classified into the same sub-dial category,for example, a schedule information providing sub-dial category, inwhich case, the correlation between sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B(520) may be determined to be high.

On the other hand, if sub-dial A (510) is a sub-dial showing the day ofthe week and sub-dial B (520) is a sub-dial showing the humidity,sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) may be classified into differentsub-dial categories, in which case, the correlation between sub-dial A(510) and sub-dial B (520) may be determined to be low.

The apparatus 100 may determine a second region, which is different fromthe first region, i.e., the display region for sub-dial A (510), as adisplay region for sub-dial B (520) based on the determined correlationbetween sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520).

Thereafter, in S40, the apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screendesign including sub-dial A (510) in the first region and sub-dial B(520) in the second region.

Referring to the design 502, in a case in which the correlation betweensub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) is high, sub-dial A (510) andsub-dial B (520) may be displayed in regions adjacent to each other.

On the other hand, referring to the design 503, in a case in which thecorrelation between sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) is low,sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) may be displayed in regionsrelatively distant from each other, compared to their counterparts inthe design 502. For example, in a case in which the correlation betweensub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) is low, sub-dial A (510) andsub-dial B (520) may be displayed in regions that are in symmetry witheach other with respect to the center of the watch screen design 503.

The apparatus 100 may determine at least one of the distance and theangle between the first region and the second region based on thecorrelation between sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520). For example,it is assumed that sub-dial 1 is a sub-dial showing the day of the week,sub-dial 2 is a sub-dial showing the time in another time zone, sub-dial3 is a sub-dial showing the date, and sub-dial 4 is a sub-dial showingthe temperature.

In this case, sub-dial 1 may have a highest correlation with sub-dial 3,a second highest correlation with sub-dial 2, and a lowest correlationwith sub-dial 4.

Alternatively, sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520) may be displayed inthe same region in a random watch screen design.

That is, the apparatus 100 may determine the first region as a displayregion for both sub-dial A (510) and sub-dial B (520).

The apparatus 100 may generate a watch screen design having sub-dial A(510) displayed in the first region in the morning and having sub-dial B(520) displayed in the first region in the afternoon. Alternatively, theapparatus 100 may generate a watch screen design in which differentsub-dials are displayed in the same region according to the location ofthe smart watch 200.

More specifically, the apparatus 100 may receive event information fordisplaying sub-dial A (510) in a watch screen design and eventinformation for displaying sub-dial B (520) in a watch screen designfrom the user. The type of event information, however, is notparticularly limited to time information and the location of the smartwatch 200. That is, for example, a watch screen design may be designedto change its sub-dial(s) in response to detection of repeatedvibrations by the smart watch 200.

Also, the apparatus 100 may generate event information for displaying asub-dial based on information acquired from the user's smart watch,i.e., the smart watch 200, without a requirement of user input. Morespecifically, the apparatus 100 may receive at least one of timeinformation indicating when each sub-dial of the smart watch 200 is inuse and the location of the smart watch 200 measured when each sub-dialof the smart watch 200 is in use.

The apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screen design based on thegenerated event information.

Referring to the design 504, sub-dial A is displayed in a random watchscreen design. The apparatus 100 may design a random watch screen designin which sub-dial A can be replaced with another sub-dial according toevent information generated in the smart watch 200. More specifically,an image 530 of overlapping sub-dials may be displayed, indicating thatanother sub-dial can be displayed in the place of sub-dial A.

Referring to FIG. 6, sub-dials 600 include a sub-dial showing the day ofthe week, a sub-dial showing the date, a sub-dial showing batteryinformation, a sub-dial showing the moon phase, a sub-dial showing thetime in another time zone, and a seconds sub-dial. Each of the sub-dials600 may have at least one tag information. The sub-dials 600 may bestored in advance in the storage 104 of the apparatus 100.

The apparatus 100 may identify information regarding one or moresub-dial display regions in the user-preferred watch screen design.Referring to a design 601, the apparatus 100 may identify a plurality ofsub-dial display regions 610 from the user-preferred watch screendesign. If at least one of the sub-dials included in the user-preferredwatch screen design is determined as an element for forming a randomwatch screen design, the apparatus 100 may arrange the determinedsub-dial in one of the sub-dial display regions 610. More specifically,the apparatus 100 may determine one of the sub-dial display regions 610as a display region for the determined sub-dial based on the location ofthe determined sub-dial in the user-preferred watch screen design.Referring to a design 602, a sub-dial 620 may be displayed in one of thesub-dial display regions 610.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of determining a display region for text.More specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates designs 701 and 702, which showwatch screen designs each having text 710 as an element.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, elements that can form arandom watch screen design may include text. The apparatus 100 maygenerate a watch screen design having text displayed in a particularregion thereof according to user input. The text may be text directlyreceived from the user.

Watch screen designs having text as an element may be registered in theapparatus 100 in advance, and may be determined as the user-preferredwatch screen design in S10.

Referring to the design 701, the apparatus 100 may generate a randomwatch screen design having text 710 displayed in a predefined textdisplay region in S40. In a case in which the design 701 is applied tothe smart watch 200, the smart watch 200 may display the text 710 in thedesign 701.

The design 702 shows an exemplary random watch screen design having atleast one sub-dial as an element. More specifically, in S40, theapparatus 100 may generate a random watch screen design having the text710 displayed in a region not overlapping with the region where at leastone sub-dial 720 is arranged. The apparatus 100 may determine thecorrelation between the text 710 and the sub-dial 720 and may arrangethe text 710 and the sub-dial 720 based on the determined correlation inthe same manner as that described above with reference to the designs502 and 503 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 illustrates tag information. More specifically, FIG. 8 shows notonly tag information indicating the type and the detailed model of eachwatch screen design element, but also tag information indicating theattributes of each watch screen design element. That is, referring toFIG. 8, each watch screen design element (or each detailed model of eachwatch screen design element) may have tag information indicating theirattributes. The tag information indicating the attributes of each watchscreen design element may be tag information indicating the graphicdesign elements of each watch screen design element such as shape,color, and texture. Also, the tag information indicating the attributesof each watch screen design element may be tag information indicating anemotion, mood, or style represented by each watch screen design element.

For example, in a case in which a set of hands with tag information“hands 1” has a retro design, tag information “retro” may be added tothe set of hands with the tag information “hands 1”. In a case in whichthe user manually generates a watch screen design via the apparatus 100,tag information indicating the attributes of each watch screen designelement may be generated according to user input. That is, the user mayset, for example, tags “retro” and “metallic”, for a set of hands andaccording to the setting tags by user, tag information of thecorresponding set of hands may be registered.

The apparatus 100 may use previously-registered tag information in theprocess of generating a random watch screen design. FIG. 8 illustratesan example in which tags are already registered in the apparatus 100,but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, various hashtags generated by the user can also be registered in the apparatus 100.

FIG. 9 illustrates a watch screen design element that changes inresponse to an event. More specifically, FIG. 9 illustrates designs 901,902, and 903, which show exemplary watch screen designs having differentbackground images for different events.

It is assumed that a plurality of background images are determined aselements for forming a random watch screen design in S30. That is, ingeneral, only one background image is displayed in a background imagedisplay region in a watch screen design, but a plurality of backgroundimages may be determined in S30.

In S40, the apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screen designhaving one of the plurality of background images displayed in abackground image display region thereof in response to detection of anevent by the smart watch 200.

The apparatus 100 may identify a plurality of background images from theuser-preferred watch screen design as elements of the user-preferredwatch screen design. More specifically, the apparatus 100 may identify aplurality of background images each having more than the predefinednumber of tags from the user-preferred watch screen design based on thewatch screen design evaluation history and the watch screen designgeneration history of the user. Then, the apparatus 100 may determinethe identified background images as elements for forming a random watchscreen design.

The apparatus 100 may generate a matching event for a background imageto be output. More specifically, the apparatus 100 may receive feedbackinformation from the smart watch 200 for a predefined amount of time.The feedback information may include information input from the user tothe smart watch 200 and information regarding the user's life pattern,detected by the smart watch 200. For example, in response to aparticular location being detected during a particular period of timeduring the day, the smart watch 200 may determine the particular periodof time as the user's work hours and the particular location as theuser's workplace. Also, the smart watch 200 may acquire informationregarding the user's life pattern by detecting, for example, any leisureactivities of the user during a particular period of time on aparticular day of the week. The information regarding the user's lifepattern may be acquired based on time information, location information,and various other information such as particular text in messages.

The apparatus 100 may generate event information by collecting feedbackinformation from the smart watch 200.

The apparatus 100 may also generate event information based on the watchscreen design evaluation history and the watch screen design generationhistory of the user. For example, in a case in which the user enters ahash tag “#workplace” in connection with other users' background image,the apparatus 100 may determine the corresponding background image as abackground image to be output at the user's workplace during work.

In this manner, the apparatus 100 may generate a watch screen designhaving different background images for different periods of time and/orfor different locations.

Referring to FIG. 9, the design 901 shows an exemplary watch screendesign having a background image 910 that can be displayed during work,the design 902 shows an exemplary watch screen design having abackground image 920 that can be displayed at the user's home before orafter work, and the design 903 shows an exemplary watch screen designhaving a background image 930 that can be displayed at a place otherthan the user's home or workplace before or after work.

Once a watch screen design is applied to the smart watch 200, the smartwatch 200 may detect an event by monitoring its time and locationinformation, and may output one of the background images 910, 920, and930 that is previously matched to the detected event.

FIG. 10 illustrates widgets that can be displayed in a sub-dial displayregion.

The apparatus 100 may acquire information regarding at least one widgetstored in the smart watch 200 in advance from the smart watch 200.

The apparatus 100 may determine the widget as a sub-dial, which can bedetermined as an element for forming a random watch screen design.

In S40, the apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screen designhaving a widget executed in a sub-dial display region thereof.

An example in which a random watch screen design generated by theapparatus 100 is applied to the smart watch 200 will hereinafter bedescribed with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 illustrates designs 1001,1002, and 1003, which show exemplary random watch screen designs thatcan be applied to the smart watch 200.

Referring to the design 1001, the smart watch 200 may display andexecute a weather widget in a sub-dial 1010.

Referring to the design 1002, the smart watch 200 may display andexecute a message widget in a sub-dial 1020.

Referring to the design 1003, the smart watch 200 may display andexecute a calendar widget in a sub-dial 1030.

The apparatus 100 may receive watch screen design information generatedby other users designated by the user. In this case, in S10, theapparatus 10 may determine the user-preferred watch screen design basedon the received watch screen design information.

The apparatus 100 may identify the accounts of the designated otherusers and may identify watch screen designs registered to the accountsof the designated other users. Thereafter, the apparatus may identifyelements included in each of the identified watch screen designs and maydetermine the user-preferred watch screen design based on the identifiedelements. Thereafter, the apparatus 100 may perform S20, S30, and S40using the user-preferred watch screen design determined based on theidentified elements.

The generation of a watch screen design by the apparatus 100 based onthe watch screen design evaluation history and the watch screen designgeneration history of the user has been described above. Alternatively,the apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screen design regardlessof the watch screen design evaluation history and the watch screendesign generation history of the user.

It is assumed that the apparatus 100 receives a request for thegeneration of a random watch screen design from the user via theinterface for generating a watch screen design.

In response to receipt of the request, the apparatus 100 may determineelements for forming a random watch screen design from among a pluralityof previously-registered elements. Also, the apparatus 100 may generatea random watch screen design by combining the determined elements andmay transmit the random watch screen design to a smart watch, connectedthereto via a network interface, upon receiving a selection of therandom watch screen design.

The apparatus 100 may randomly determine the elements for forming arandom watch screen design without consideration of their weightedvalues.

Alternatively, the apparatus 100 may generate a random watch screendesign with reference to watch screen design generating histories ofother users who have similar user information to the user.

More specifically, the apparatus 100 may receive user information andmay search for a user whose user information falls within a predefinedrange of similarity to the received user information. For example, ifuser A is a 30 year-old male playing basketball as a hobby, theapparatus 100 may search for a user who has similar user information touser A. The predefined range of similarity to the received userinformation may be set based on the corresponding user's age and hobby.For example, if there is user B who is a 34-year old male playingbaseball as a hobby, user B may be determined to have user informationthat falls within the predefined range of similarity to user informationof user A because users A and B are both in their thirties and both playsports as a hobby.

Once a user whose user information falls within the predefined range ofsimilarity to the received user information is found from among a numberof previously-registered users, the apparatus 100 may acquire a watchscreen design generating history of the found user. Then, the apparatus100 may determine elements for forming a random watch screen designbased on the acquired watch screen design generating history.

The apparatus 100 may receive feedback information from the smart watch200. That is, the apparatus 100 may receive information indicating whenand how many times each watch screen design generated by the apparatus100 has been replaced by the user and information indicating when andhow many times each element of each watch screen design generated by theapparatus 100 has been replaced by the user as the feedback information.

The apparatus 100 may set weighted values for elements, detected fromeach random watch screen design generated by the user, based on thefeedback information. As a result, the user's preferences on thedetected elements may be reflected. Thereafter, in response to a requestfor the generation of a random watch screen design being received, theapparatus 100 may determine elements for forming a random watch screendesign from among the detected elements based on the set weighted valuesof the detected elements, and may generate a random watch screen designby combining the determined elements.

As the apparatus 100 continues to receive feedback information, theweighted values of the elements of each random watch screen designgenerated by the user may be updated.

Each of the methods according to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure that have been described above with reference to theaccompanying drawings may be performed by executing a computer programembodied as computer-readable code. The computer program may betransmitted from a first computing device to a second computing devicevia a network such as the Internet and may be installed and used in thesecond computing device. Examples of the first and second computingdevices include server devices, stationary computing devices such as adesktop PC, and mobile computing devices such as a tablet PC.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in provideand detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims. Theexemplary embodiments should be considered in a descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for generating a watch screen design,performed by an apparatus for generating a watch screen design, themethod comprising: determining at least one user-preferred watch screendesign from previously-registered watch screen designs, based on atleast one of a watch screen design evaluation history and a watch screendesign generation history of a user; acquiring tag informationpreviously-matched to each element included in the at least oneuser-preferred watch screen design; determining at least one element tobe included in a random watch screen design, based on the number oftimes that tag information has been acquired; and generating the randomwatch screen design by randomly selecting and combining the determinedat least one element, and preferentially selecting the element having ahigh number of times that tag information has been acquired.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the determining at least one element to beincluded in a random watch screen design comprises: applying a weightedvalue to each element included in the at least one user-preferred watchscreen design, based on a number of times that the tag information hasbeen acquired; and determining elements having highest weighted valuesas the elements to be included in the random watch screen design.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-preferred watch screendesign includes first elements and second elements, wherein thedetermining at least one element to be included in a random watch screendesign comprises: determining an element corresponding to first taginformation from the first elements, as one of the elements to beincluded in the random watch screen design; and determining an elementcorresponding to second tag information which is information on anelement that has been included in the at least one user-preferred watchscreen design with the element corresponding to the first taginformation a greatest number of times, as another one of the elementsto be included in the random watch screen design, and wherein thegenerating the random watch screen design comprises generating therandom watch screen design including the element corresponding to thefirst tag information and the element corresponding to the second taginformation.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined at leastone element includes a first sub-dial and a second sub-dial, wherein thegenerating the random watch screen design comprises determining acorrelation between the first sub-dial and the second sub-dial bycomparing category of first sub-dial and category of the secondsub-dial, and determining display region of the first sub-dial anddisplay region of the second sub-dial based on a determined correlation.5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the display region ofthe first sub-dial and the display region of the second sub-dial basedon a determined correlation comprises; displaying the first sub-dial andthe second sub-dial in regions adjacent to each other, in a case inwhich the category of the first sub-dial and the category of the secondsub-dial are the same, and displaying the first sub-dial and the secondsub-dial in regions that are in symmetry with each other with respect tothe center of the watch screen design, in a case in which the categoryof the first sub-dial and the category of the second sub-dial aredifferent.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined at least oneelement includes text and a sub-dial, wherein the generating the randomwatch screen design comprises determining a correlation between text andthe sub-dial, and determining display region of the first sub-dial anddisplay region of the second sub-dial based on the determinedcorrelation.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the randomwatch screen design comprises: collecting information regarding theuser's life pattern, and generating an event for change the element ofwatch screen design that varies according to a day of week, a time andlocation information, based on the information regarding the user's lifepattern.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined at least oneelement includes a plurality of background images, wherein thegenerating the random watch screen design comprises generating therandom watch screen design including the background image correspondingto the input hash tag, based on hash tag information input by smartwatch.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the random watchscreen design comprises: receiving a user information, and searching forand finding a previously-registered user whose user information fallswithin a predefined range of similarity to the received userinformation, based on the received user information, wherein determiningat least one element to be included in a random watch screen designcomprises determining at least one element to be included in a randomwatch screen design, based on a watch screen design generation historyof the found previously-registered user.